Future Islands Release New Single: “Before The Bridge”

When you’re a band that tours as long and as hard as Future Islands, it is nothing short of a miracle that you find time to record new material. The ever prolific band will release their new single, “Before The Bridge,” on July 19, but they have made the A-side of the same name available for download here. The single will be released as a 7″ limited to 750 copies, and it marks the band’s first release of 2011.

“Before the Bridge” displays the band in the same fine form that made In Evening Air one of last year’s best albums, and this is arguably one of their most straightforward and pop friendly songs to date. Gerrit Welmers atmospheric synths and an excellent guitar line join William Cashion’s prominent bass playing to form the backdrop for Samuel Herring’s laments and his one of a kind voice. Perhaps the most impressive thing about the song is that the band utilizes live percussion, as opposed to a drum machine. This gives the song an even bigger sound, and it allows Welmers more room to to concentrate on creating memorable synth lines, such as the one used to a master effect in the chorus.

If this song is an indicator of where Future Islands are headed, this can only be a good thing. The production values are great, the addition of live percussion will give their songs even more force, and it is proof that the band have lost none of their abilities to write beautiful music. They are still a criminally underrated band, but for those willing to give them a chance, Future Islands are one of the most unique groups around, and they only continue to get better.